A total of £150million has been put aside to oversee the Government’s amnesty for Troubles killers.

A group of academics will be in charge of the process to deal with the past and the money will be paid out over a five-year period.

They will take part in work under the headings “investigations, immunity, oral history” and a report will be presented at the end of the scheme.

Yesterday Belfast Live exclusively revealed the five main parties at Stormont along with Secretary of State Theresa Villiers and PM David Cameron have agreed to implement an amnesty for anyone involved in terrorist crimes before the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

Paramilitaries, soldiers and RUC officers will be able to admit killings to the Implementation and Reconciliation Group and not face jail.

A former senior republican with 40 years’ active service during the Troubles yesterday denounced the secret amnesty plans and called for “open, televised hearings” to try to heal the wounds of the past.

“Only then can we begin proper nation-building and forging a stable society based on the firm foundation of truth.

“It may be hard and ugly but it is essential if we are to have genuine peace.

“The current proposals are just a hole and corner affair that will never give victims’ families closure.

“If I went along with this, had my slate wiped clean so my past was not an issue during police or CRB checks, then I could apply for jobs for which I am properly qualified. That would mean an instant rise in salary of about £15,000 or more.

“But I know in my heart that this is not right. I won’t be part of it. The dead and the living deserve a great deal better. They deserve the truth.”

He told Belfast Live: “This works for us. We want to get on with our lives.

“We were fighting for Queen and country against an enemy in our back yard. But times have changed.

“We have been approached about getting a consensus about an amnesty. So has the other side. The details of how it would work are sketchy but it’s been explained to me that it’s like the On The Run letters the IRA ones got.

“We’ve no problem explaining our actions, we’d do it again if we were in the situation again, but this is a big step because it takes everyone to trust we are not being hoodwinked by David Cameron and Stormont.”

A spokeswoman for the NIO added: “This Government does not believe in amnesties and there will be no amnesty.

“Where evidence exists for a prosecution of any crime in relation to the Troubles, the law will take its course.”

She said the Historical Investigations Unit will examine deaths and have powers to bring about prosecution.

The spokeswoman added people will be able to ask for details about killings through the Independent Commission on Information Retrieval.

But she would not comment on plans for the Implementation and Reconciliation Group, which is the responsibility of First Ministers’ Office.